Elisabeth Shell Events styled shoot 'Country Love' has just been published in the wonderful Wed Magazine!
Gathering a selection of lovely, local suppliers Elisabeth Shell Events wanted to champion, we headed to the gorgeous Lamb Inn in Sandford, Devon, to help them launch their intimate and bespoke Wedding Packages for 2020.
As their recently appointed in house Wedding Coordinator it seemed only fitting that Elisabeth Shell Events got to deck the beautiful pub out with all our blush hued drapes and commandeer the skittle alley to transform it into an offbeat, quirky ceremony space and wedding breakfast.
It would seem that the tides are most certainly turning when it comes to weddings.
As a freelance wedding coordinator and events manager you are pretty on the pulse when it comes to what couples want and where the trends are heading in terms of venues. The country house and rustic barn have reigned supreme in the south west for a long time, and rightly so - the country piles are gorgeous: stately and picturesque backdrops with manicured gardens and tinkling fountains to wander around in after your fresh nuptials. And surely barns are the idyllic place to wed in, especially in the rural South West too? Heavenly rolling green spilling out in every direction. The fabulous mix of contemporary whilst keeping all the original features, tucked away in the middle of nowhere - sound familiar?
That's just it. Everyone knows someone who was married in the house, the barn, the castle. How many people have been married in their favourite pub? I have also been told countless times how expensive this getting married malarkey is. Oh don't I know it! Perhaps this is where the budget conscious, laid back darlings are leading the march on finding cheaper alternatives?
Pubs hold a very dear place in my heart, and I’m sure they do (or at least one or two in the world) might for most of you too. Maybe you met your future husband in one, or you went on a date there once and had the best steak and ale pie ever, or you stumbled home drunk in the rain during a thunderstorm hiccuping and giggling from all the cider you drank. These memory making stalwarts may sadly not stick around for your children to make memories in. Tee totalling and wellness has over taken the trend of drinking with 30% of 16-24 abstaining from alcohol altogether and it’s plastered in local news often of a gem of a pub closing down - especially the independents - as they are bought out by the bigger breweries who can charge less by selling the beer they brew. In fact, The Guardian states one pub closing down every 12 hours! :(
We can give them a new lease of life! The rise of the pub wedding. Affordable. You can probably wed, drink, feed and party for less than the cost of venue hire elsewhere. Unique. You can pretty much guarantee no one else has yet dressed their skittle alley in fairy lights and foliage. Relaxed. Excellent service and delicious food served in a more informal atmosphere, groovy photo opportunities galore and a place which you can forever go back to for anniversaries and special occasions... and the myriad of options out there from the light, bright water mill on a river to a cosy, fire lit old coaching inn means you’ll have plenty to choose from.
All the lovely photographs shown on this post were taken by Vince from Yeti Photography - an absolute top wedding photographer and thoroughly fine fellow to get snapped by if you're looking for your wedding photographer!
The fabulous suppliers involved are as follows:
Styling & Coordination : Elisabeth Shell Events
Photography : Yeti Photography
Venue : The Lamb Inn, Sandford
Florist & Bride : ReBloom Floristry
Cake : Hat-a-cakes
Pottery : ShoreFired Pottery
Stationery : Sammy Davies Draws
Soap Favours : Suddy Nora
Prop Hire : Keeping It Vintage
Groom : The Muzic Box
Dresses : The Ivory Secret
Hair : Kirsty McClaughlin
Make Up : Justine Olver
(A huge thank you to all of you for helping us get into print!)
To quote Wed Magazine about this shoot:
"Lending itself to a beautifully individual wedding, this styled shoot blends rustic styling and bespoke details, from handwritten place settings to personalised soap favours. A palette of dusky pink, taupe and green bring a soft natural aesthetic to the celebration space, the semi naked cake echoing the shades in deliciously trending style. The fresh-from-the-hedgerow flowers and pottery imprinted with botanicals serve as a nod to the surrounding landscape, while vintage elements, such as a typewriter and grammar phone dressed with flowers enhance the timeless, eclectic mood of the setting. The groom embodies the rustic theme in idiosyncratic style, while the bride dons a dried flower crown and a series of whimsical dresses - a relaxed yet standout look, perfect for revelling in the romance of a country village wedding."
Wow. Yes, we'll take that write up, thank you very much!